Understanding freshwater soundscapes in the Brazilian Amazon

Marisol Valverde Montellano is a doctoral candidate in ecology and evolutionary biology whose summer research is focused on freshwater soundscapes and species community structure and dynamics with a focus on fishes, primarily through work at the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon.

Describe the location of your field research.

My research takes place at the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve in the Brazilian Amazon.

What's the focus of your research?

My research focuses on freshwater soundscapes (the biological, geophysical, and anthropogenic sounds from an area) and species community structure and dynamics. I focus on fishes, which are the vertebrate group with the highest diversity of sound-producing mechanisms. I am interested in understanding if freshwater soundscapes can reflect species community composition and how soundscapes change over the seasons.

What do you hope will be the impact of this work?

I hope that in the same way we use acoustic monitoring for birds and anurans, we can use it one day to monitor fishes, particularly in highly-diverse and remote regions such as the Amazon River Basin, where thousands of people rely on fisheries.

How will field research advance your understanding of your research in a way that classes or theory does not?

My research is strongly field-based, as currently there are very few acoustic recordings of tropical freshwaters. Additionally, spending so much time in the field has been really important to gain a better understanding of Amazonian lakes, their inhabitants and dynamics.

What has surprised you about your experience?

Many things! But perhaps a "funny" one: the diversity of ways in which my equipment (hydrophones, which are aquatic microphones) can be targeted by Amazonian organisms: eaten by caymans, munched by fish, pulled by aquatic macrophytes...

How did Cornell programs and/or faculty mentors help connect you with the opportunity to carry out this research?

My Ph.D. advisor, Alexander Flecker, had a collaborator, Ayan Fleischmann, at the Mamirauá Institute for Sustainable Development. We met at a conference, and Dr. Fleischmann invited us to visit the Mamirauá Sustainable Development Reserve.

What would you say to students considering applying to Cornell for grad school?

Definitely do it! Cornell is a wonderful place to pursue a degree, full of opportunities and amazing and collaborative people.

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